Former Botswana president Festus Mogae has called for the setting up of a commission of inquiry to investigate recent fighting in South Sudan and hold those behind it accountable.
More than 300 people were killed in nearly 10 days of fighting between forces loyal to President Salvar Kiir and rebel leader and Vice-President Riek Machar in the capital Juba.
The fighting continued until Monday following a new agreement on cessation of hostilities.
However, the lull in fighting has not stopped the flow of refugees into Uganda as people fear a return to scenarios of the 2013-2015 war.
Mogae, who chairs the AU Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) set up to monitor the implementation of the peace process in South Sudan, spoke to the Botswana Press Agency (BOPA).
He had just returned from an emergency summit convened by the Inter-Govermental Authority Development (IGAD) to resolve the fighting in Juba.
Mogae said he had appealed to African leaders of IGAD, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and other global leaders to ensure that both President Kiir and rebel leader/VP Machar respect the current cessation of hostility agreement in Juba and start implementing the peace agreement in full.
The envoy said both sides should be pressured to allow members of the Ceasefire Transitional Authority Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism (CTAAMM) unhindered access to the countryside to verify ceasefire violations as well as identify the causes and the people responsible.
“I told them (IGAD Heads of State) that they should remind the two leaders of their commitments to the agreement they signed, and that they should appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the issues and the series of events that caused the fighting.”
“The ceasefire monitoring mechanism has been hindered in their functions by local authorities in South Sudan.”
“I also told the (IGAD) Heads of State them to remind the South Sudanese leaders to allow unhindered access to this international body, which investigates these issues on behalf of the region and the international community,” said Mogae.
To ensure that the two leaders fully implemented the peace agreement signed late last year, Mogae recommended that the South Sudanese crisis be handled at AU Heads of State level in the event of any new breakdown of the peace agreement.
He said he felt the South Sudanese leaders could commit if decisions were taken at AU Heads of State rather than at JMEC or IGAD Council of Ministers level.
The peace envoy said the latest round of fighting had complicated the delivery of food and medical aid to the countryside where millions face starvation due to a combination of drought and years of war.
Apart from the AU and IGAD, the JMEC is actively supported by the UN, China and the European Union among others.
(NAN)
